LEWISTON, Maine -- Senior Molly Brown hit a jump shot with six seconds remaining as the Bates women's basketball team overcame an 18-point second-half deficit to defeat the University of Southern Maine 61-60 on Tuesday night at Alumni Gym, Bates' first win over its in-state rival since 2010.
Brown's game-winning jumper represented Bates' first lead since it was 6-4.
Senior Kristin Calvo (South Deerfield, Mass.) drained three 3-pointers in the final 3:37 of the second period to spearhead the Bobcats' furious late comeback.
The Bobcats raised their record to 5-2 this season, while the visiting Huskies fell to 2-2.
Brown (South Dartmouth, Mass.) finished with a game-high 27 points, including 18 in the second half, in addition to 11 rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocked shots. Calvo finished with 13 points. Sophomore Allie Coppola (Tarrytown, N.Y.) grabbed 12 boards to go with four assists.
Megan Pelletier led the Huskies with 15 points to go with nine rebounds. Ella Ramonas had 14 points and 13 rebounds, while Rebecca Knight added eight points and 10 boards.
Leading 34-21 at halftime, the Huskies began the second half with five straight points, culminating with a three-point play by Pelletier, to go up 39-21 with 18:55 left.
Brown began the long climb back with a three on a Coppola assist, and Coppola soon after scored four straight points to cut the deficit to 41-28.
Following Ramonas's layup at the 15:58 mark, the Huskies went without a field goal for six minutes until another Ramonas hoop underneath made it 49-41 in the Huskies' favor. The Bobcats cut the lead into single digits on a three by junior Chelsea Nason (Boxford, Mass.) to make it 47-39 with 10:43 to go.
After a Brown layup, USM scored four straight buckets, including two in a row by Knight, to bump the lead back to 14 at 57-43. After a pair of free throws by USM's Taylor Flood made it 59-45 with 6:32 to play, Bates rejoined its quest to whittle away the lead with a Brown three at the 5:38 mark.
Neither team could score again until Calvo made her first three with 3:37 left in the game to cut it to 59-51. USM missed the front end of a one-and-one on its next possession, and Calvo swished another three to cut it to 59-54 at 3:07.
With 46 seconds remaining, Brown was fouled by Ramonas after releasing a missed 3-point attempt. Brown made both free throws with 1:17 left to make it 60-56.
Pelletier missed a layup at the other end and Brown grabbed the rebound. With 46 seconds to go, Calvo hit her third straight three, assisted by Nason, and the Huskies called timeout with 37 seconds left, nursing a 60-59 lead.
Out of the timeout, Ramonas missed underneath and Nason rebounded, allowing Bates to call timeout with 16 seconds left to set up a final shot. Out of the timeout, Brown dribbled near the top of the circle and beat her defender one-on-one, drifting into the lane and pulling up with a jumper that hit the back rim and dropped in.
With no timeouts left, USM could only rush up the court for a desperation shot, but Knight was called for an offensive charge before the Huskies could get off a final shot.
Bates will next play at Colby on Sunday at 4pm in the rivals' annual non-conference matchup. USM will host St. Joseph's on Sunday at 5:30.